Fort Benning, Ga. – The U.S. Army and Clark Pinnacle broke ground on McGraw Manor, the first of 11 neighborhoods in a $650 million redevelopment in a city known as the “Home of the Infantry.”
Fort Benning Family Communities, LLC (FBFC), the joint venture between the Army and Clark Pinnacle, will plan, operate and build amenities-rich military family housing communities here and at Camp Frank D. Merrill in Dahlonega, Ga. FBFC will demolish 2,110 outdated homes, construct 2,377 new single-family and duplex units, and renovate 1,560 historic and non-historic homes. There will also be 261 units transferring into this ownership that will be left untouched. “This project is near and dear to my heart,” said Phil Cowley, development executive at Clark Realty. “I was stationed at Fort Benning when I was serving in the military. Rebuilding for military families means something to me.”
Construction is expected to be completed in 10 years. Then Clark Pinnacle will continue to manage the total of almost 4,200 homes throughout the remaining 40 years of the project. The average size of a new unit is 1,800 square feet, and rents will range from $935 to $1,700.
New communities will include pools, playfields, tot lots, wooded pedestrian trails, a 3,600-square-foot village center and four 5,000-square-foot neighborhood centers with gyms, sports areas and computer centers.
FBFC financed the project by issuing a 45-year, $467 million taxable bond at a fixed 5.8% interest rate to Clark Pinnacle. The rest of the project is being financed by equity from development cash flow and interest earnings on invested debt proceeds, said Tad Guleserian, senior vice president of Clark Capital Markets.
Fort Benning was established in 1918 and houses the U.S. Army Infantry Training Brigade, Ranger Training Brigade, U.S. Infantry School, Airborne School and School of the Americas. This is the 26th project under the Army’s Residential Communities Initiative to provide improved housing for military families through public-private partnerships.
Clark Pinnacle is a joint venture between Clark Realty of Bethesda, Md., and Pinnacle of Seattle. Torti Gallas and Partners of Silver Spring, Md., will provide the design and land planning for the new homes. Local architect 2WR Andrea Architects will oversee renovation designs for existing homes.
